Saturday, November 15, 2008

Australia take on England at Twickenham this afternoon in what should be yet another fiercely contested battle between the two rugby powerhouses. Today we're going to take a look back to their famous 1995 RWC Quarter Final in South Africa.

The match was not a running spectacle, but was packed with tension as it went right down to the final kick. England roared into the game as the stronger side, their pack proving too powerful for their Australian counterparts in the opening 40 minutes.

Michael Lynagh and Rob Andrew both managed two penalties apiece in the half, but it was Tony Underwood's sprint for the try which proved the major defining point between both sides.

When England got a sniff from a turnover, the ball was spread wide fast, landing in the hands of Underwood Jnr, who sprinted down the right wing and touched down for a great try.

Damian Smith later chased high bomb, gathered midair, and touched down for a brilliant try for the Wallabies. From then on, the game was all about the forward confrontation and the boots of Lynagh and Andrew. The pair matched each other kick for kick but neither side could be separated as the full 80 minutes expired with the scores at 22-22.

Into extra time it went, and as England got within sniffing distance, Dewi Morris swept a superb pass to Rob Andrew who in turn unleashed a perfect drop-kick from 45 metres.

It was a famous 25-22 win for England, beating Australia outside of the Northern Hemisphere for the first time.

posted by GMC at
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21 Comments:

well england got owned this time, their scrum being particulaly shocking. I can't see anything positive in their game, lost against what remains an unconvincing Australian team.will be interesting to see Aus vs Frogs next week, both team having won their two previous games without really playing ...

'I can't see anything positive in their game, lost against what remains an unconvincing Australian team'

england got beaten and lost the forwards battle but to say there were no positives is being abit blind. armitage had a fantastic game at full back, v comfortable under the high ball, confidence for that drop kick and a try saving tackle.we saw the good and bad of cipriani but take into account that he just turned 21, thats his third international start and only a month back from suffering an injury that has the potential to ruin a career. some great breaks but some poor decision making which will come with time. giteau showed the composure that comes with experience.also, englands defence was pretty strong and hopefully if johnson rips into them theyll never concede 21 points from pemalties again which will make it a much closer contest.and this unconvincing aussie side have beaten nz in trinations (yes i know the got smashed by sa as well) so cant be too bad

one thing about those drop goals thoughgoing for a drop goal after camping in Australia's 22 for the last 5+ phases, shows England weren't confident in their ability to score tries.cipriani went for a drop at what, 10m out?but as you said, the decision making will get better with experience.

Jesus - some of the comments from England and Australia fans here are truly pathetic. Is the only reason you guys watch rugby to feel better about yourself that 15 blokes from your country beat 15 blokes from another country? Do actually care about the game at all? It's really childish frankly.

The important stuff - Australia deserved to win but their play was solid rather than spellbinding. The amount of injured players showed I thought. As for England, more than anything their ill-discipline let them down. They penalised themselves out of the game and didn't come away with points after time in the Oz 22; something that never used to happen. Some bright sparks from Armitage aside, they did not look like the finished article at all.

Let's hope for better from both sides next week and stop all this mindless squabbling.